By Cesar Hernandez
Photos: Ozzie Santiago

Last night at the luxurious Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel in the heart of Atlanta GA on a card promoted by Greg Barckoff’s The Big Rock Out, Zahir “King” Raheem and Paul “The Truth” Delgado dazzled their hometown crowd with an excellent exhibition of flash and power. The crowd was also treated with the The Big Rock Out’s presentation of “The Ring of Honor” to legendary Atlanta and boxing great Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield.

Main Event: 6rds of Boxing at a contracted weight of 143lbs

Zahir “King” Raheem 31-3 (18KOs) vs. Roberto Valenzuela 53-54-2 (43KOs)

In a return bout, Philadelphia native Zahir Raheem’s displayed his superior boxing skills and thrilled the crowd in attendance with a sensational second round KO of Roberto Valenzuela.

Although Raheem had previously won a six round decision over Valenzuela earlier this year (22 April 10), it was evident from the opening stanza that Raheem had no intention for this fight to go to the scorecards.  Raheem used his speed advantage to punish Valenzuela’s head and body, while his footwork kept him well out of reach from Valenzuela’s attack. Raheem’s accurate combinations to the head and his punishing body attack won him the round on my scorecard: 10-9 Raheem

The second round saw Raheem pressing the action as Valenzuela retreated after feeling the effects of Rahem’s relentless attack. At the 2:40sec mark, Raheem landed a crushing left hand to the body that immobilized Valenzuela along the ropes and followed up with a right cross that sent the durable Valenzuela crashing to the canvas. Valenzuela spat out his mouthpiece and rose at the count of nine on very shaky legs.  The referee correctly waved off the fight, for it was clear that Valenzuela was in no condition to continue.  Winner by KO at 2:50sec of the 2^nd round…Zahir “King” Raheem!

Co-Main Event:  6rds of Boxing at a contracted weight of 148lbs

Paul “The Truth” Delgado 24-9-1 (4KOs) vs. Chad Greenleaf 12-16-1 (5KOs)

Delgado won a hard fought Unanimous Decision against West Virginia native Greenleaf, but If styles make fights, then the unorthodox fighting style and south paw stance of Chad Greenleaf brought the best out of the local favorite Paul Delgado.

Greenleaf came out strong in the opening seconds of round one with a barrage of punches to Delgado’s head.  Delgado weathered the storm well utilizing a tight defense and picked off most of the punches with his gloves, shoulders, and elbows.  Once Greenleaf backed off Delgado found his rhythm by establishing his jab and finished every combination with a left hook to the body.  It was all Delgado for the first two rounds until Greenleaf changed his strategy in the third round.  In the third Greenleaf fought with his back against the ropes with some success, he was able to land counter rights over Delgado’s jab.  During an exchange in the middle of the ring their heads collided and Delgado went down.  Delgado recovered quickly and as the round was coming to a close he had Greenleaf reeling along the ropes courtesy of some well placed right hands to the head.  Delgado won the fourth and fifth rounds by moving forward and countering with a stiff right hand; Greenleaf kept changing his stance and punched from angles with very little success. In the sixth and final round Greenleaf came out showing some urgency but his efforts were in vain. Delgado boxed well for most of the round but with twenty seconds left he connected with a right hand that sent his opponent down to the canvas.  Greenleaf rose at the count of nine and the round ended.  The judges’ scorecards read: 60-53, 60-53, and 60-54 for the winner Paul “The Truth” Delgado.

Note:  During the post fight interview Delgado revealed that he came in to the fight with an injury to his left hand and that he will take some time off to let it heal. He plans to return to the ring sometime in December 2010.

6rds of Boxing at a contracted weight of 149lbs

Chris “Classy” Gray 13-12 (1KO) vs. Gerald “Spotlight” Jordan 7-2-1 (5KOs)

Louisiana resident Chris Gray comes into Atlanta and pulls out the upset win against Gerald Jordan by Unanimous Decision.

First two rounds went as expected; the speedier Jordan landed the heavier punches and constantly beat Gray to the punch from the outside, Gray was able to land the right hand down the middle a couple of times.  Gray landed a right hand to Jordan’s jaw (at the 1min mark of the 3^rd round) and it changed the momentum of the fight.  For the first time in the match Jordan was on the defensive.  It looked like Gray could close the show but Jordan had enough presence of mind to clinch and survive the round.  The referee issued a second warning to Jordan for holding.  Gray came out aggressive in the fourth round and used his jab as a range finder, he soon found the range and fired a lead right followed by an uppercut that made Jordan fall to his knees.  Jordan was up at the count of five and once again clinched to buy himself some time.  Jordan fired back and kept Gray at bay until another right hand put him in trouble again, luckily for Jordan the round ended. The fifth round seemed to belong to Jordan; he landed some powerful hooks to the head and Grey’s punch output declined. Sixth round, good exchanges, a clinch, and the referee yelled “break”, Jordan lands a left hook to Grey’s head and the crowd voices their disapproval. The fight continues and Grey lands the better punches for the rest of the round.  After a long delay (approximately 8min) Judges’ scorecards read:  59-54, 59-54, and 58-55 for the winner by Unanimous Decision…Chris “Classy” Grey!

Special Attraction Fight:

4rds of Boxing at a contracted weight of 135lbs.

Jackie Breitenstein 4-0 (4KOs) vs. Lisa Bolin 2-3 (2KOs)

Local product Jackie Breitenstein stepped into the ring against last minute replacement Lisa Bolin for a woman’s special attraction fight.  With plenty of local support Breitenstein put on a spirited performance against a much taller and stronger Bollinger.  For her part, Bollinger surprised Jackie with a long jab and her ability to fight on the inside.  Both combatants gave their all for the crowd in attendance and were rewarded with both being declared winners at the end of their bout.

4rds of Boxing at a contracted weight of 152lbs

Adonis Inman 2-0 vs. Dustin Parrish 0-1

Adonis Inman won a unanimous decision against a very game Dustin Parrish.

Parrish came out swinging in the first minute of round one but his lack of ring experience cost him. He over exerted himself and quickly fell into the deep against a better conditioned and more skilled fighter.  For the next four rounds Parrish took everything Adonis Inman had to offer and returned fire in spurts.  Adonis is the kind of fighter that you have to pace yourself against and think before you punch. Despite his now 2-0 record and his limited amateur experience, Adonis shows boxing maturity and technical prowess.  Judges’ scorecards read: 40-36, 40-46, and 39-37 for the winner by Unanimous Decision…Adonis Inman!

4rds of Boxing at a contracted weight of 152lbs

Ghislain Ntsikoto 1-0 vs. Nick Smith 1-3

Ntsikoto survives being knocked down early in the first round en route to a unanimous decision win over Smith and picks up his first professional win.

Ntsikoto was dropped by Smith’s overhand right early in the first round but managed to survive the round by clinching until he regained full use of his legs and senses.  Ntsikoto worked hard in the second, third and fourth round by being the aggressor, he moved forward and let his hands go, Smith spent too much time looking for “one punch” to turn the fight around and his inactivity cost him the fight.  Judge’s Score:  38-37, 38-37, and 38-37 for the winner by Unanimous Decision…from Congo, Ghislain Ntsikoto!